U.S. patent number 8,602,276 [Application Number 13/058,030] was granted by the patent office on 2013-12-10 for holster for keeping a pistol.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Holster Tech Finland Oy. The grantee listed for this patent is Jarno Tyybakinoja. Invention is credited to Jarno Tyybakinoja.
United States Patent |
8,602,276 |
Tyybakinoja |
December 10, 2013 |
Holster for keeping a pistol
Abstract
The invention relates to a holster for keeping a pistol. The
holster includes a grip guard and locking mechanism for the pistol,
as well as a lifting mechanism to raise the pistol out of the grip
guard in the release situation. The locking mechanism includes a
catch and its release device.
Inventors: |
Tyybakinoja; Jarno (Hyvinkaa,
FI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tyybakinoja; Jarno |
Hyvinkaa |
N/A |
FI |
|
|
Assignee: |
Holster Tech Finland Oy
(Helsinki, FI)
|
Family
ID: |
39852251 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/058,030 |
Filed: |
September 10, 2009 |
PCT
Filed: |
September 10, 2009 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/FI2009/050724 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
February 08, 2011 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2010/029219 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
March 18, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20110163138 A1 |
Jul 7, 2011 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 12, 2008 [FI] |
|
|
20085862 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/244; 224/243;
224/198; 224/193; 224/912 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41C
33/0263 (20130101); F41C 33/0272 (20130101); F41C
33/0209 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41C
33/02 (20060101); F41C 33/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;224/243,244,192,193,198,238,911,912 ;D3/222 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Newhouse; Nathan J
Assistant Examiner: Schmidt; Phillip
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fildes & Outland, P.C.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. Holster for receiving a pistol having a grip, a barrel, a
trigger, and a trigger's safety guard, which holster includes a
rigid case that surrounds at least the barrel and the safety guard,
in the upper part of which there is an opening for inserting the
pistol into the case barrel first, and a belt clip for carrying on
the user's belt, at the side of the user's hip, and a locking
mechanism integrated with the holster for locking the pistol into
the holster, in which the locking mechanism further includes a
catch, which moves essentially transversely, for holding the safety
guard, and a quick-release means, comprising a press-button on the
outer surface of the holster, and lifting means operated by a
lifting spring, for raising the pistol from the holster,
wherein--the holster includes at least a grip guard covering the
lower surface of the grip of the pistol placed in the holster, thus
preventing the use of the fingers from taking hold around the grip,
and the holster further includes an intermediate arm between the
catch and the press button, the press button being located in
proximity with the grip guard, the lifting spring directs force on
the trigger's safety guard, the lifting means are arranged to raise
the pistol to at least such an extent that use of fingers to grasp
the grip is enabled, and the press-button is located in the upper
part of the holster and next to the opening, on the side next to
the belt clip, the locking mechanism catch is releasable by the
inward vertical movement of the press-button.
2. Holster according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting
means are arranged to raise the grip of the pistol into the crook
of the thumb.
3. Holster according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting
means are arranged to raise the pistol by the trigger's safety
guard.
4. Holster according to claim 3, characterized in that the
quick-release means of the catch comprise the intermediate arm
between the press-button and the catch, and in which intermediate
arm there is a wedge structure arranged to operate jointly with the
catch, to convert the vertical movement of the intermediate arm
into the principally transverse movement of the catch.
5. Holster according to claim 4, characterized in that the catch is
arranged to rotate around its axis and form a 25.degree.-50.degree.
sector.
6. Holster according to claim 4, characterized in that the movement
of the intermediate arm is 5-20 mm.
7. Holster according to claim 6, characterized in that the angle
between the direction of the lever arm and the direction of the
wedge structure is 130'-170'.
8. Holster according to claim 1, characterized in that the holster
includes the actual holster and the belt clip supporting it, in
which the holster is formed of rigid casing components.
9. Holster according to claim 8, characterized in that the casing
components of the holster are arranged to conform precisely to the
shapes of the pistol.
10. Holster according to claim 1, characterized in that the
press-button and the catch are on the same transverse line, which
corresponds to the location of the safety guard, so that in the
release situation the user's thumb and forefinger are arranged to
take up a position on this line.
Description
The present invention relates to a holster according to the
preamble to claim 1. In general, the term pistol refers here to a
handgun, in which there is an elongated barrel, a grip, and a
trigger protected by a safety guard.
Many publications are known from the prior art, such as U.S. Pat.
No. 5,944,239, U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,591, and U.S. Pat. No.
6,854,626, which disclose a holster that includes a locking
mechanism for holding the pistol in place. There are various
problems in the operation of the holders disclosed in the
publications. For example, in the holster disclosed in publication
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,239, problems may appear when locking the
pistol into the holster. In turn, in the holster disclosed in
publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,591, in order to withdraw the
pistol, a locking mechanism next to the second wall of the holster
must be twisted, so that it can be very difficult to withdraw the
pistol. In several holster models, the locking is based on
friction, which abrades the surface treatment of the weapon.
In publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,626, the pistol is locked into
the holster by means of a locking mechanism, from which the pistol
is detached by using a lateral twist. Stated in general terms, the
problem is, on the one hand, the removal of the pistol from the
holster and, on the other, keeping the pistol in the holster and
protecting it against attempted theft. To protect against theft of
the pistol, holsters often have a special safety lock, which
prevents the movement of the release catch. This cannot be regarded
as sufficient, as the safety lock must be opened in certain cases
of aggression and often remains open until the situation has been
completely resolved. For example, during an arrest, an aggressive
person may attempt to steal the weapon, even though the situation
appears to have already calmed down.
In known holsters, release generally takes place using the
forefinger or the middle finger, after which, in the next stage, it
is necessary to grasp the grip of the weapon. However, U.S. Pat.
No. 7,556,181 (Spielberger) discloses a holster, in which release
takes place using the thumb, i.e. the operating button is at the
side of the hip, but quite low down behind the grip of the weapon.
A similar construction is used in the Ghost III holster
manufactured by Ghost International S.r.I. (IT).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,891 (Loacklear III) discloses a holster
equipped with a quick-release device, in which there is a
trigger-guard catch mechanism operating from the side and a
combined stabilization and quick-lift mechanism fitted against the
barrel of the weapon. In this model, theft is a risk factor after
the release of the safety catch, as the release button is on the
outer side of the holster. The weapon will jump into the reach of
the thief, if he can press the release button.
The invention is intended to create an improved holster for keeping
a pistol, in which there is better security than before against
attempted thefts, while nevertheless being easy to use. The present
invention is characterized by the holster including a grip-guard
covering at least the lower surface of the grip of the pistol
placed in it, thus preventing fingers from being used to take hold
around the grip, and lifting means being arranged to lift the
pistol out of the safety guard, at least to such an extent as to
allow the fingers to take hold around the grip, and a press-button
being located in the upper part of the holster and next to the
opening, on the belt-clip side.
Though it is not desired to give up the ease of use of the holster,
the aforementioned combination is required to protect against the
attempted theft described above. The grip-guard requires a special
lifting element for the lifting distance needed to raise the grip
sufficiently above the grip-guard. In addition to this, the
press-button is on the belt-clip, i.e. the hip side, so that
another person cannot easily press it. It is operated by the thumb,
so that the grip rises straight into the thumb crook, i.e. between
the thumb and forefinger, at the same time as the other fingers can
immediately grasp the grip by curling one or more fingers
sufficiently round the grip, or only by pressing the grip between
the thumb and the fingers. Usually, the forefinger remains
straight, ready to be placed inside the safety guard. In addition,
it is important that the internal shape of the holster corresponds
at least adequately to the shape of the pistol and that, during the
lifting event, the piston slides along the internal surface to the
gripping point.
Due to the grip-guard, the press-button must unavoidably be located
substantially higher than the catch. The mechanism that changes the
vertical movement of the press-button into the movement of the
catch is generally in conjunction with the catch. Thus, an
intermediate arm is naturally required to transfer the vertical
movement to this mechanism. Preferably, a rotating catch is used,
along with an angled part at the lower end of the intermediate arm,
by means of which the direction of the movement is changed. A
mechanism based on a rotating catch is the most reliable, as the
mechanism must be operated with the aid of a long intermediate arm,
i.e. the distance between the press-button and the catch is
considerable.
When using a weapon equipped with a full clip, a lifting point
acting on the safety guard will generally be in better balance than
when lifting from the barrel.
In the holster according to the invention, the pistol will be
certain to remain in place, but the user can easily remove the
pistol when the need arises. In addition, the holster
comprehensively protects the weapon.
The holster includes both a catch to direct a locking force onto
the safety guard belonging to the pistol, as well as an
intermediate arm to move the catch. Once the locking of the pistol
is ensured by the catch, which is moved with the aid of the
intermediate arm, the pistol is securely locked. However, using the
combination of the intermediate arm and the catch, the pistol can
be reliably released from the locking, when required.
In the following, the invention is described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, showing some applications
of the invention, in which
FIG. 1 shows the holster according to the invention, without a
pistol, seen from the pistol-recess side,
FIG. 2 shows the holster according to the invention, without a
pistol, seen from the pistol-recess side at an angle from
above,
FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross-section of the holster in the
thickness direction,
FIG. 4 shows the locking mechanism and lifting mechanism belonging
to the holster, seen from an angle from the side, with the
mechanism casing in place and the outer casing removed,
FIG. 5 shows the situation in FIG. 4, with a weapon locked in
place,
FIG. 6 shows a variation of the holster in the situation of FIG. 4,
with the mechanism casing removed,
FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of the holster of FIG. 6, and
FIGS. 8 and 9 show the operation of an improved holster model with
the aid of cross-sectional views, before and after pressing the
press-button.
FIG. 1 shows the holster 10 according to the invention, without a
pistol 12, seen from the pistol-recess 36 side. FIG. 2 shows the
holster 10 according to the invention, without a pistol 12, seen
from an angle from above. The recess 36, which conforms to the
shape of the weapon, is clearly visible from the viewing angle in
question and has an opening 50 at its upper end, for inserting the
pistol into it barrel first. The holster 10 includes a pistol's 12
locking mechanism 14, in which the central component is a catch 16
that rotates in front of the pistol's safety guard 20, to direct a
locking force onto it when the pistol 12 is in place (FIG. 5). More
specifically, the locking force is directed onto the inner surface
of the safety guard.
The holster 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a spring-loaded ram 46 for
raising the pistol 12 towards the pistol opening 50 once the catch
16 has rotated away from in front of it, FIG. 9. The lifting spring
can raise the pistol when the pistol is released from the pressure
of the locking mechanism, more specifically, from the pressure of
the catch. The pistol rises to a suitable point, at which the user
can easily lift it out of the holster. When the spring raises the
pistol to the gripping position shown, the distance between the
holster and the pistol should be such that the pistol can be
gripped easily. Once the lifting spring has raised the pistol, the
catch will not lock the pistol into the holding position, unless
the user pushes the pistol into the holding position.
The holster 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes not only the actual
holster, but also a belt clip 52, for carrying it, and the said
catch mechanism. The holster is mainly formed of three rigid
casings, which are the rear casing 38 against the hip, the front
casing 40, and the mechanism casing 32. The totality of the holster
10 is delimited by the outer shell formed by the rear casing 38 and
the front casing 40. The mechanism casing 32 and the rear casing 38
delimit the locking mechanism between them, to the extent that it
need not be outside them. The catch 16 can rotate from a special
opening in the mechanism casing 32 into the recess 36.
The press-button 28, which is used to release the locking of the
pistol, is mostly in the upper surface of the rear casing 38 and
can be pressed inwards. By pressing the press-button, the pistol
rises from the holster by, for example, 40-65 mm, more specifically
50-55 mm. Such a rise allows a good grip, as the grip of the weapon
rises into the crook of the thumb. FIG. 2 shows clearly that the
press-button 28 and the catch 16 are on the same transverse line.
This also means that, in the release situation, the thumb and
forefinger adopt a position on this line, which corresponds to the
position of the trigger guard, at the same time as the fingers
adopt a position behind the trigger guard on the lower part of the
grip.
FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross-section of the holster 10 and pistol
12 in the thickness direction. The view is at an angle from the
rear, so that the press-button 28 and belt clip 52 belonging to the
holster 10 can be seen in the figure.
The locking mechanism 14 includes both a catch 16 to direct a
locking force onto the pistol and an intermediate arm 22 to rotate
the catch 16. The catch forms a sector of 30.degree.-50.degree..
The angle between the average direction of movement of the rotation
of the catch 16 and the direction of movement b of the intermediate
arm 22 is 70.degree.-110.degree., preferably
80.degree.-105.degree.. Thus, the press-button that moves the
intermediate arm, and the intermediate arm are pressed essentially
towards the pistol when lifting the pistol out of the holster.
By pressing the press-button, the pistol is released, as described
above. If it is desired to ensure that only the user can remove the
weapon, a press-button lock can be fitted to the holster on the
belt-clip side. The press-button lock is located in an even more
protected manner than the press-button, so that no-one but the user
can access it. Because the location of the press-button itself is
very well protected, the press-button lock is typically
unnecessary. One press-button lock is shown in the embodiment
according to FIGS. 6-9.
In the holster 10 shown in FIG. 3, between the catch 16 and the
intermediate arm 22, there is a wedge structure 24 that transmits
the movement of the intermediate arm 22, in order to rotate the
catch 16. The wedge structure is a reliable mechanism construction
for converting the movement of the intermediate arm into the
rotation of the catch. More specifically, by means of the wedge
structure, the vertical movement of the intermediate arm is
transformed into the transverse movement of the catch, as the total
rotation is quite limited. The wedge structure 24 is preferably in
the intermediate arm 22. With the wedge structure being in the
intermediate arm, the total solution can be easily implemented, as
the wedge structure can be easily formed in the intermediate arm of
the press-button. The intermediate arm 22 is supported on a few
points in the rear casing 38, supported on which it can move in the
direction of movement b of the intermediate arm, which is parallel
to the vertical direction. The catch 16 too is supported on the
rear casing 38. The support of the catch is implemented by means of
a pin, which permits the catch to rotate around its axis. When the
catch 16 rotates, the lower edge 54 of the catch 16 moves mainly in
the direction e. The catch 16 includes a slider pin 56 and a guide
pin 57, which are in contact with wedge structure 24 of the
intermediate arm 22.
In the holster 10 shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate arm 22 has the
direction of movement b and the wedge structure 24 the direction c.
The angle between the direction b and the direction c of the wedge
structure 24 is 10.degree.-50.degree., preferably
20.degree.-30.degree.. Thus, in order to release the pistol from
the holster, the required movement of the intermediate arm 22 in
the direction of movement b is 5-20 mm, preferably 8-13 mm.
The holster 10 shown in FIG. 3 includes a lifting spring 26 with a
ram 46 for raising the pistol 12, when the pistol 12 is released
from the pressure of the catch 16.
FIG. 4 shows the visible parts of the locking mechanism 14 and the
lifting mechanism 58, when the mechanism casing 32 is in place in
conjunction with the rear casing 38. Part of the catch 16 of the
locking mechanism 14 can be seen. For its part, part of the ram 46
of the lifting mechanism 58 can be seen in the slide casing 45.
The locking mechanism 14 includes the catch 16 and the intermediate
arm 22. For its part, the lifting mechanism includes a lifting
spring 26 and the ram 46 of the lifting spring 26, FIG. 6.
The lifting spring 26 directs a force on the safety guard 20 of the
trigger 18 by means of the ram 46 of the lifting spring. More
specifically, the lifting force is direction to the outer surface
60 of the safety guard 20.
FIG. 5 shows an axonometric view of the holster 10 without the
front casing, the pistol 12 being locked in the holster 10 by the
locking mechanism 14. The pistol in the figure is a Glock-17. Each
model of weapon generally requires its own shape components. Some
models of weapon can be fitted into a generic basic model by means
of suitable additional shape components.
The rear casing 38, the front casing 40, and the mechanism casing
32 are preferably manufactured by moulding, for example, from
fibre-reinforced epoxy, thus making the holster light in
weight.
FIGS. 6-9 show a holster model that is slightly modified from the
previous one. The same reference numbers are applied to components
that are functionally similar to those above. FIG. 6 corresponds
mainly to FIG. 4, but the mechanism casing has been removed. Thus,
in this model, the press-button safety lock 29, in which the end of
the pin is pushed in front of the press-button when the safety lock
is set, is clearly visible. However, the height of the ram 46, i.e.
also the length of the lifting spring, has been increased
considerably, to prevent the fatiguing of the spring due to the
length of movement. In addition, there are guides 48 in the outer
surface of the ram 46 against the front casing, which correspond to
grooves in the internal surface of the front casing, in which there
are also walls corresponding functionally to the slide case 45
(FIG. 7).
The exploded view in FIG. 7 shows clearly that the principal
components of the holster are the rear casing 38, the mechanism
casing 32, the front casing 40, and the catch mechanism and ram 46.
The catch mechanism includes the catch 16, the intermediate arm 22,
the press-button 28, as well as its safety lock 29. The spring-ball
pair 30 installed in a recess in the rear casing creates clear
on/off positions (not shown) for the safety lock 29.
The belt clip 52 includes toothed adjustment plates for setting the
holster to the desired angle relative to the belt.
The principal components of the holster are attached to each other
by screws, which permits, the mechanism to be serviced and tuned
afterwards. For example, the lifting height can be altered by
changing the lifting spring 26.
FIGS. 8 and 9 show the release of the pistol in detail. The holster
10 is attached to the user's belt and located at the side of their
hip. In FIG. 8 the hand is approaching the holster in the correct
position to remove the pistol 12 from it. On the other hand, it can
easily be concluded from FIG. 8, particularly in conjunction with
FIG. 5, that someone other than the user of the weapon will not
have effective access to the grip 62 of the pistol, but would
instead also grasp the grip guard 11 and thus the entire holster 10
and would not be able to remove the pistol 12 from it, even by
using great force.
In the correct position, the thumb 66 of the user's hand depresses
the press-button 26 at the same time as the other fingers,
particularly the middle finger 70 adopt a position on the other
side of the grip 62, with the crook 68 of the thumb remaining
straight above the grip.
When the user then uses their thumb 66 to depress the press-button
28, this releases the catch 16 from in front of the safety guard
20, allowing the ram 46 to push the pistol upwards by the force of
the lifting spring 26 while the grip 62 moves straight into the
crook 68 of the thumb. The grip 62 can then either be grasped
between the thumb 62 and the fingers, or some of the fingers can
already be wrapped around the grip 62. The forefinger 69 is still
kept straight. In any event, the pistol can be easily pulled out
and made quickly and reliably ready for use.
Alternatively, the lifting spring can be located above the slide in
holsters for handguns to which some accessory has been fitted in
front of the trigger guard. This accessory can be a laser sight or
a light. The spring will then operate inversely, (tension spring),
in which case it will raise the weapon out of the holster with the
aid of an intermediate piece.
* * * * *